The Elemental Hymn

Chapter 6: arrival

It was over four hours since Isaac and his two partners have boarded, Isamu is busy with writing on the scrolls to pass the time, and Eleanor was calm enough to read a book without crying on it.

"I have been meaning to ask you, Isaac" said Eleanor.

"Ask away, I'm willing to answer questions" said Isaac.

"Why are you dressed as an ancient magician? And why are you barefoot?" She asked.

"Heh, back in the Wind Tower. I was recently brought back to life by Mila, but I was naked. I had to put on these clothes after finding them in an old chest, besides, there wasn't any sandals. That's why I walk barefoot, and that's also why I am dressed like an ancient magician" he explained.

"I wondered, since I learned a bit about the Equinox tribe" she said.

Isaac look out the window, he saw the ocean from below, and the sun is facing south. Therefore, it tells him that it's nearly evening. He watched Isamu writing what is described as a note, using only fingers.

"How did you write things with your finger?" He asked.

"Ink magic, I am an expert at ink magic" replied Isamu.

"Why did you become an ink magician?" He asked.

"I was originally a samurai serving a lord back home, but when the rival samurai killed off my master, I became a ronin seeking revenge. Eventually, I gave up my armor and sword before taking ink magic to exact revenge. I trained until I was able to get revenge, but when I killed the samurai, I was empty and didn't take any satisfaction" explained Isamu.

Before Isaac asked any more questions, Isamu got up and went to another room to get some peace and quiet.

"I guess he doesn't want to answer any more questions" said Isaac.

"That's because he's rather sensitive about his past, and would rather not have old wounds reopened" said Eleanor.

Isaac yawned, but his stomach growled for the first time since he was brought back. Eleanor opened her bag and pulled out a snack bar, and gave it to him. He began wolfing it down to satisfy is hunger, even though it'll last him an hour.

"I take it that you haven't eaten since yesterday?" Said Eleanor.

"Nah, I was brought back and haven't eaten anything. Not even earlier at the headquarters" he replied.

Her eyes lit up from surprise, because she hasn't met anyone who went a day without eating.

"We are now arriving our destination at Leikios, be sure to hold on as we land" the pilot announced.

Both Isaac and Eleanor went to the other side of the airship, and they saw mountains on the continent of Leikios. There were villages near the mountain range, forests, and few rivers that divided the land. When the airship arrived at the valley, it slowly landed in the river island that is connected with a bridge. Isaac, Eleanor, and Isamu exit the airship and saw some ruins nearby. They walked across the bridge and walked for a mile down the road, until they arrived at the ruins of a city. As they entered the ruins, there were tents that were set up, few walls have crumbled, there's mostly mud brick foundations of where few buildings have once stood, several buildings were mostly intact, and what remains of a palace. Up ahead, they can see a large building on a mountain that resembled an observatory. Then a young woman with red hair came to them, and she is dressed like a tour guide.

"Welcome to the ruined city of Uruk, the home of the Equinox" greeted the female tour guide.

"This place? I was expecting it to be advanced, like contraptions that erectus walls or even circuitry" said Isaac.

"It was advanced, but the Equinox mysteriously disappeared while leaving this city abandoned. After several millenia of neglect have caused this once advanced city to crumble into what it is, some of the archaeologists have discovered few devices that were powered by light" replied the female tour guide.

"Wow, a bit of an exposition" remarked Eleanor.

"Allow me to show you the museum of the Equinox, come with me to the big tent to the left of the street" said the female tour guide.

The trio followed her into the big tent, and inside, it has numerous exhibits ranging from artifacts to statues of what the Equinox looked like. The most interesting exhibit is two skeletons with accessories next to them in the display cases, and two mannequins of a man and woman stood next to the display cases. One skeleton is almost in bone fragments except it's skull, arm and hand bones, some of its ribs, and the spine. Next to it is what appears to be a fragmented royal scepter made of lapis lazuli with four gold rings, a simple gold circlet decorated with stars, and a gold armlet decorated with an image of a young man fighting lions while wearing no clothing. The second skeleton is almost intact, except the front part of the skull is broken off and the feet are missing. Next to the second skeleton is a broken headgear made of gold wires with two bands of gold sticking up with images of stars, assuming it represents comets or "shooting stars". Not only that, but there were lapis lazuli and carnelian beads that were used in making a necklace.

"What you are seeing is none other than the king and queen of the Equinox" said the female tour guide.

"Interesting, I wonder who they are" said Isamu.

"The first skeleton belongs to Ur- Pabilsag, king of the Equinox and the first magician to start his kingdom in the ancient past. The second skeleton is his queen, Puabi. The armlet depicting a scene of a young man fighting lions naked could be a depiction of the king in his teenage years before he started his kingdom, in which he might have killed four lions with his bare hands. Also, the four gold rings next to what remains of the royal scepter are used for joining pieces of lapis lazuli together, as shown in the reconstruction that the mannequin of the king is holding" she explained.

She pointed at the reconstruction of the royal scepter, in which she was right: the four gold rings were joining the lapis lazuli together to form a rod, not only that, but the top part of the royal scepter is topped with a polished moonstone cabochon. The man that is holding it is an reconstruction of what Ur- Pabilsag looked like in life, and he looked to be about in his early thirties. He is bald, fair skin, wearing only an armlet and a long wool kaunake (a type of skirt worn by men in the time of the Sumerians). Next to him is the reconstruction of his queen, Puabi. She was beautiful around her mid thirties, she wore a red dress that leaves her left arm bare and a sleeve that covers her right arm. She wore a necklace made from lapis lazuli and carnelian beads, and a reconstruction of the headdress she once have worn.

"Wow, who knew this woman was very beautiful back in the ancient past" remarked Isaac.

"According what few records we find, it was said that Puabi conjured a ball of fire and shoot it at the furnaces to power up the forges. We can assume that she was a fire magician than a light magician like her husband, and perhaps come from a tribe of fire magicians" explained the female tour guide.

"Can we just go to the Apollo observatory? It's also getting late out" asked Eleanor.

"Getting inside is almost impossible, as it's entrance is sealed with a powerful spell. Only a light magician can break the seal, so I recommend you to sleep in the tents" answered the female tour guide.

Meanwhile

There was an airship headed to the direction of the continent of Leikios, in which it is driven by Nathan and his two friends. They were given a mission by the Order of the Nations to stop the Black Leaves from using the power of the Apollo observatory as a weapon, and it is their duty to stop them.

"How long will we get there?" Asked Sophia.

"Maybe another couple of hours, you might get some sleep then" replied Nathan.

"We'll take turns in piloting this airship" she said.

Nathan nodded, and watched as Sophia leaves into the cabin. He is focused in piloting the airship to it's main destination, and to stop the Black Leaves plans.

Authors note: this is the longest chapter I have done in some time, so be sure to vote and comment.